Q: Shelf life for CD Writers?

[Kompu Kid]

I have a Plextor CD Writer I got about two years ago. I am having
problems with it write CD's properly in the last few months.

I have not used it much: Probably burned less than 100 CD's total.

A friend is claiming that CD Writers get worse just by sitting around.

Any comments?

Thanks!

Deguza

[Mike Richter]

Kompu Kid wrote:
I have a Plextor CD Writer I got about two years ago. I am having problems with it write CD's properly in the last few months. I have not used it much: Probably burned less than 100 CD's total. A friend is claiming that CD Writers get worse just by sitting around. Any comments? Thanks! Deguza

Unused, the lubricant can dry up, but the more likely problem is that
the media are too fast for the drive.

Mike
--
mrichter@cpl.net
http://www.mrichter.com/

[smh]

.. --------------------------------------
Mike Richter, were you born with
"Scam Artist" emblazoned on your face?
--------------------------------------
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=3F2D8973.EBCD8386@mindspring.com

( No Pipsqueaks have been able to prove ANY of the above is a LIBEL )
( -- despite Mikey claimed to have proof of misquotes !! )


Kompu Kid wrote: I have a Plextor CD Writer I got about two years ago. I am having problems with it write CD's properly in the last few months. I have not used it much: Probably burned less than 100 CD's total. A friend is claiming that CD Writers get worse just by sitting around.

That's quite plausible, considering that the shaft the laser assembly
rides on may need to be lubricated.

Many Ricoh MP7040/7060/7080 drives needed "lube" job:

==================================
From: dekka
Subject: Re: RICOH MP7080A problem recognizing inserted disk
Date: 12/4/01

Due to the inadequate lubrication of mechanical parts of the
Ricoh 7080 write failures and/or lockups of your computer may occur.
Take the unit out of the computer, remove the bezel, the lower cover
and the top cover. (in that order)
Eject the loading tray by pushing against a plastic lever with a small
screwdriver, just below the loading tray, situated at approx. one
third from the right hand side.
Next you need to remove a metal plate, approx. 5 x 12 cm with a
plastic CD hub in the center, by removing 2 small screws.

Then, viewing from the front side of the burner, a lead screw is
visible on the right hand side of the laser unit as well as two
slide bars, one left and one right.

The far end of the lead screw has a plastic gear attached.
The parts that require lubrication are:
1. The lead screw
2. The two slide bars
3. The plastic gear

Apply some light grease (from my previous experience with lubing the
Ricoh 7040/7060 models I know that industrial vaseline will do the
job just fine, but most people appear to prefer using some kind of
Teflon lube gel which should be available from Radio Shack) and after
reassembling and reinstalling the unit, your Ricoh 7080 may/will
perform flawlessly again.
===============================

[Kompu Kid]

Mike Richter <mrichter@cpl.net> wrote in message news:<3150onF35bbjiU2@individual.net>... Kompu Kid wrote: I have a Plextor CD Writer I got about two years ago. I am having problems with it write CD's properly in the last few months. I have not used it much: Probably burned less than 100 CD's total. A friend is claiming that CD Writers get worse just by sitting around. Any comments? Thanks! Deguza Unused, the lubricant can dry up, but the more likely problem is that the media are too fast for the drive.

I was wondering about the media being too fast. I have been looking
around for slower media but nobody seems to sell them anymore.

Any sources available that you know of?

Thanks!

Deguza
Mike

[Mike Richter]

Kompu Kid wrote:
I was wondering about the media being too fast. I have been looking around for slower media but nobody seems to sell them anymore. Any sources available that you know of? Thanks! Deguza

You may have to go for archival media or for DigitalAudio discs. In
either case, you will only need one or two to determine if that's your
problem.

Once you know, you can look for less expensive blanks or a faster drive.
I've found several lines of high-speed media from the top makers that
write quite well at 4x and perfectly at 8x.

Mike
--
mrichter@cpl.net
http://www.mrichter.com/

[Kompu Kid]

Mike Richter <mrichter@cpl.net> wrote in message news:<31d8isF39b2qfU2@individual.net>... Kompu Kid wrote: I was wondering about the media being too fast. I have been looking around for slower media but nobody seems to sell them anymore. Any sources available that you know of? Thanks! Deguza You may have to go for archival media or for DigitalAudio discs. In either case, you will only need one or two to determine if that's your problem. Once you know, you can look for less expensive blanks or a faster drive. I've found several lines of high-speed media from the top makers that write quite well at 4x and perfectly at 8x. Mike

By DigitalAudio do you mean "Music CDR"? I have some from TDK, and it
says "Music CDR" on them.

And what is archival media? Any brand names that I can search for on
Internet?

Thanks!

Deguza

[Mike Richter]

Kompu Kid wrote: Mike Richter <mrichter@cpl.net> wrote in message news:<31d8isF39b2qfU2@individual.net>...Kompu Kid wrote:I was wondering about the media being too fast. I have been lookingaround for slower media but nobody seems to sell them anymore.Any sources available that you know of?Thanks!DeguzaYou may have to go for archival media or for DigitalAudio discs. Ineither case, you will only need one or two to determine if that's yourproblem.Once you know, you can look for less expensive blanks or a faster drive.I've found several lines of high-speed media from the top makers thatwrite quite well at 4x and perfectly at 8x.Mike By DigitalAudio do you mean "Music CDR"? I have some from TDK, and it says "Music CDR" on them. And what is archival media? Any brand names that I can search for on Internet?

Archival media are used for critical applications such as preserving
medical images. There are only a few vendors and they are very expensive.

Somewhere on your package of "Music CDR", you should find a CD logo. In
that, you will see the term Digital Audio if they're the ones I mean.
The term "Music CD" is not defined, but it is a colloquial term used by
some vendors for Digital Audio.

Mike
--
mrichter@cpl.net
http://www.mrichter.com/

[Kompu Kid]

mrich...@cpl.net wrote:Kompu Kid wrote:
I have a Plextor CD Writer I got about two years ago. I am having problems with it write CD's properly in the last few months.

I have not used it much: Probably burned less than 100 CD's total.

A friend is claiming that CD Writers get worse just by sitting
around.

Any comments?

Thanks!

Deguza

Unused, the lubricant can dry up, but the more likely problem is that
the media are too fast for the drive.

Mike -- mrich...@cpl.net http://www.mrichter.com/

Go figure. Now it works:

- I was trying to fix the CD burner because I was planning to upgrade
to XP on a new harddrive.
- After giving up on the CD burner, I upgraded to XP anyhow. And
guess what? The CD burner works like a charm under XP's CD burning
software, which I hear is not the best of the lot!

Deguza